Moon Se-yoon, Kim Min-kyung, and Hong Yun-hwa are leaving ‘Delicious Guys.’ All members except Yoo Min-sang have left the show. Recently, the directing PD has also changed. They say they will return with a more delicious and fun mukbang, but I feel uneasy for some reason.
‘Tasty Guys’ is iHQ’s representative entertainment show featuring friendly, high-quality mukbangs by ‘guys who know a bit about taste’. It was first broadcast in January 2015 and has passed 419 episodes. In addition, as a stand-alone entertainment program, it attracted 1.03 million YouTube subscribers, and the most viewed video recorded 9.48 million views.
Celebrating its 8th anniversary, ‘Delicious Guys’ has gone through a major reorganization. iHQ recently announced, "The entertainment show 'Delicious Guys,' which is celebrating its 8th anniversary, is going through a major reorganization encompassing the production team and cast. Details are being discussed, and the show will run without a break in February or March." Producer Lee Myeong-gyu, who has been leading the program since February, took charge of overall management as CP, and PD Na Jeong-hyeok joined as on-site director.
Above all, there was a big change in the cast. Among the existing members, all except Yoo Min-sang left. Moon Se-yoon's appearance ended with the episode aired on the 3rd, and Kim Min-kyung and Hong Yun-hwa will also end their appearances at the end of March.
‘Delicious Guys’ started with the ‘Dung 4’ system of Kim Jun-hyun, Yoo Min-sang, Moon Se-yoon, and Kim Min-kyung. Previously, many people expected the program to take a hit when Kim Jun-hyun, who was the main MC, left the show in November 2021.
Kim Jun-hyeon's successors were Hong Yun-hwa and Kim Tae-won. Accordingly, the Dung5 system of Yoo Min-sang, Kim Min-kyung, Moon Se-yoon, Hong Yun-hwa, and Kim Tae-won was established. Hong Yun-hwa took her place, but Kim Tae-won left in January 2023 due to personal reasons. Kim Tae-won's departure was not explained on the main broadcast and was announced on YouTube. In the main broadcast, only a subtitle was briefly shown stating that Kim Tae-won had left the show due to personal reasons. There was no scene where the other members saw Kim Taewon off. This is why viewers were taken aback. Now, Moon Se-yoon, Kim Min-kyung, and Hong Yun-hwa have left 'Delicious Guys'.
‘Delicious Guys’ made viewers feel like they were in a restaurant together with the contestants’ vivid taste expressions and mouth-watering mukbang. Corners in the program such as 'One Bite Only', where you can only eat one bite, and 'Snack Taste', where you select a member who can only taste one bite, also added to the fun. The performers received a lot of love and were called ‘Mukbang Avengers’ and ‘Mukbang Scene Stealers.’ In particular, the original members Kim Jun-hyun, Yoo Min-sang, Moon Se-yoon, and Kim Min-kyung have such a symbolic meaning in the program that they are considered the ‘Delicious Guys are the Fat 4.’ Kim Jun-hyeon is ‘Professor Meok’, Yoo Min-sang is ‘Twenty Meals’, Kim Min-kyung is ‘General Min-kyung’, and Moon Se-yoon is ‘Teacher Moon’.
However, they can no longer be seen on ‘Delicious Guys’. Even if it returns after reorganization, viewers will already remember 'Delicious Guys' as 'Fat 4'. This is why the future of ‘Delicious Guys’ without ‘The Guys’ seems in jeopardy.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr